Greece, Part IV

Well, I had an absolutely wonderful day yesterday. It started early, leaving the hotel at 8:00 AM, and the tour guide gave us much information along the way. The traffic out of Athens was murder, but soon we were in the countryside, going towards the Peloponnese, which is a peninsula separated from the mainland of Greece by an isthmus. This isthmus is cut by an incredibly cool-looking canal, which we stopped to see. I loved the way all the layers of the rock were visible.

The next stop was the ancient city of Corinth. As far as ruins go, these weren't the most impressive, but still rather cool. Corinth's ruins are, essentially, the remains of an ancient shopping mall, in a sense. Another important part of the Corinth site is the platform from which Paul defended himself when the Jews put him on trial there. He had lived in Corinth for 18 months before the pressure was just too much, and he moved on. He had quite a job to do there, as it was a very materialistic city--only the wealthy lived there, and those who visited were mostly wealthy traders as well. From the Corinthian Acropolis, both the Aegean and Ionian seas are visible--unfortunately, we did not get to see that view, as it would have been a rather nasty long hike to do so.

The bus trip to Mycenae from there was so beautiful--the Greek countryside is beautiful, like the Napa Valley, but with more of the silvery leaves of the olive trees than anything else. When we got to Mycenae, the view from their acropolis was almost more impressive than the ruins themselves. However, the ruins in this case were actually impressive, as was the story behind them.

If the names Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, or Iphigenia ring a bell at all to you, then the significance of the ruins of Mycenae have extra meaning. In fact, the Mycenae site was excavated by a man who wanted to prove their existence, since he loved the Greek tragedies so much. What's historical fact, at least, is that Agamemnon was king of Mycenae during the Trojan War--both the height of the Mycenaean civilization, and the beginning of its downfall. There, in Mycenae, are the graves of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, or so they claim. The walls of the city are massive and really impressive, and the Lion's Gate leading inside is really cool, too.

I know I'm using and re-using words here, but it's sort of the way the ruins there leave a person thinking about them. I guess the only way I can really describe it is through pictures, and we'll see how much luck I have with that. . . the connection is still patchy here. My favorite part of the site was actually the abandoned cistern, which had a very well-preserved staircase leading down to it. The way the light shone from the top of the passageway onto the stairs was like a digital blasphemy wallpaper, if any of you are familiar with those.
The tomb of Agamemnon, in particular, was really cool--a high dome that did not photograph well, but had excellent acoustics. Again, very hard to describe, and very cool.

We had lunch at a hotel by the sea, after which many swam in the ocean or the pool. I just sort of chilled. . . needed to, being bummed about my grades. When I got back to the hotel, I studied for a little, than started watching the Little Mermaid, needing a picker-upper. As I listened to the glorious Ashman score, I got an idea. Cackling gleefully, I soon produced my very first recorded silly Greek Study Aid song. It sounds terrible, but the process of making these songs to study helps almost more than listening to them. I'm thinking, eh, this can work. Already I have personally destroyed several great works from the stage and screen, my favorite so far being the Accusative Song, based off of the song "How Does She Know?" from Enchanted. It's enough to make any music teacher's ears cringe, but oh, it was so much fun to make.

Amazingly, this unconventional study method worked for me--I did better on this morning's quiz than any other so far. Coming out of this (and I can't use that phrase without thinking about its participle-ness now), I had the adventure of finding the post office. I got off a stop too late, and had to walk several blocks before a nice person at a newsstand gave me directions. After I found it, I thought to myself, "Wow, there's much easier ways of describing where this is," and was shocked at how much less time it took me to get back to the correct station. . .but hey, that's life. It was good exercise.

May the rest of you have much greater senses of direction, and not get lost in the great city of life. And if you do. . . embrace the adventure!

Greece, Part III

Ah, my humblest apologies for the duplicate episodes last time--the internet here has been ridiculously patchy over the last three days. Some of my fellow ACA group have been complaining about it to the degree they want to bug the desk about it, but I'd rather stay at peace with them. They do make our food, after all. It's just frustrating when there's only one person on the hotel staff who knows how to fix the internet, and we have to wait for them to get on duty every time it crashes. . . but that's life, I guess. Just wish it wouldn't do funny things like drop half of some emails and send other twice in the meantime.

We did not have Sunday off, like the rest of Greece, heh. The rest of Greece takes Sunday so seriously, they shut down almost everything, so there's nothing to do but go to class or the beach. So, I studied extra-hard, and tried to go to the beach with my room mate, Damali. She's from New York, so a beach like this one is even more of a novelty to her. Unfortunately, we found it to be so crowded, what with the rest of Greece having the day off, we went to the pool instead. There was a large group of American high schoolers there, but at least I was able to swim and to get some work done in turns. It's actually a rather therapeutic way of dealing with homework, I discovered.

The quality of dinner, I've noticed, has improved with more vegetarian food than before. For several nights, most of us were reduced to eating potatoes and watermelon, but now they've started to pull out different varieties of eggplant, falafel, and, finally, some spanakopita, or spinach pie. Over dinner, I get what I believe has been some of my real education on this trip--listening to my peers discuss issues from their locales. It's fascinating, to learn what different issues are discussed in different parts of the church.

Today I spent mostly in study, because I'm not liking my grades in translation. It feels like I lost a lot in the week I was gone; the teacher, Dr. Bruce Johansen, was kind enough to work with me and my room mate, Damali, this afternoon. He says I'm just jetlagged, and I'll improve quickly. I hope so; I was getting a bit discouraged, looking at my translations. I've started taping charts and old assignments to my wall in hopes of making myself learn even more--it's intense, the study program here. At least we have a beautiful locale; right outside the classroom is a veranda overlooking the sea, and that's where I'm writing from right now. The weather is hot during the day, but pleasant in the evening, and I've enjoyed being out here tonight.

This afternoon, Damali and I went into Glyfada again, and had a good time getting lunch and looking in the newsstands for various items. I find it amazing, that with all the postcards they sell there, the only place to get stamps is the post office, several train stops away. Eh, well. The train system works beautifully here; I wish the US would convert. 80 euro-cents for 90 minutes anywhere sure beats gas for that time.

Anyway, enough musing on life here in Greece. Tomorrow, I get to go to Corinth and Mycenae--I will write after that, if I can. For now, I just thought I'd leave all of you with my best wishes, and a few pictures of what it's like. Hope you all have a wonderful week, full of bright horizons.

Greece, Part II

After a very hot, very tiring and hungry-making afternoon, we ate dinner quickly because the dining room downstairs was being set up for a wedding reception. As we had vespers in the top story of the hotel, where the classroom is, the party began downstairs and from my balcony, I could hear the music quite clearly; Greek music is awesome, so far as I'm concerned. They were there, I was told, until 3:00 AM--and that's normal for a Greek wedding reception. There's going to be one in our classroom tonight, and already I feel sorry for the teachers who will be trying to sleep on that floor.

This morning we went into Athens to celebrate the Sabbath with the Adventist congregation here. They're not easy to find, as there are only 300 Adventists in the entirety of Greece, and all very hush-hush, as Greek Orthodox is the state religion. The English-speaking congregation was very welcoming at Sabbath school, including us in their class discussion. For the main service, we joined the rest of them in the main sanctuary, and the service was all in Greek. That was interesting at first, but as I couldn't hear the interpreter, got a little dull after a while.

Their music was beautiful, though, and their communion was top-rate; I almost wanted to ask what they did to the bread to make it taste so much better than the wafers we use in the US, but again, I don't speak Greek. The ordinance of humility finally got me introduced to the the few other girls on this trip; the ratio of men to women is something crazy, like 20:6. The potluck was really good, though it wasn't Greek food; rather, it was a mixture of dishes from the many different ethnic groups represented by the English-speaking congregation.

After potluck, two of the teachers and I decided a nap's too boring for Sabbath, and went to see some archaeological sites instead. We started with the ruins of a library, which I found amusing, as I worked in one this last year (a library, not a ruin) and the Roman Agora, with its famous wind tower. There, one of the teachers explained to me, free of charge (har har), how the Greeks and Romans attached their columns so that they stood so well--it was an iron peg with lead filled into a groove running into the hole at the base, very cool. He also explained the difference between Greek and Roman building materials--the Romans used bricks, whereas the Greeks did not. That is why the Greek structures are so much sturdier than the Roman structures. The most amusing part of this site to me was the ancient latrine--makes sense, in its own way.

The Ancient Agora was a huge and incredibly awesome site. I took more pictures than I needed, and probably won't be able to identify much of what is in them within a few days, but wow, it was all I could do to appreciate all the statues I was seeing, not to mention the Colonnade. The Colonnade is an ancestor to the modern shopping mall--the idea of it is to have shade for the venders to sell their wares so that the people would, being more comfortable, be more likely to buy. Getting a bit dehydrated and sweating in the sweltering heat, I fully understand their logic.

The temple of Zeus slightly above the Agora is really impressive, as it is so well-preserved. The building had a certain depth to it that was hard to capture on camera, and the view from it of the Acropolis is incredible. When worship of Zeus passed out of practice, it was used for several purposes--among them, burial for Protestants and later as a museum. To my amusement, the largest building of all (or what used to be, as all that remained of it were the stones at the base) was the bureaucratic headquarters. Our last point of interest was a very, very old Greek Orthodox church which, if I'm not mistaken, was the first--very interesting.

We got a little lost on the way back, but it gave us an opportunity to look at some of the local color--the cafe's which weren't about coffee but cold drinks (because of the sweltering heat), the bright textiles, the jewelry shops, the artifact-replica shops, and so many different types of sandals. I shall have to return there with money on a day which is not the Sabbath sometime, as I would like to explore it further. When I got back here, though, I was so thirsty I drank an entire liter almost in one go, and already I'm starting to get thirsty again; thankfully, dinner will be soon, and I am ready for it! Wish you all well, and hope you had a happy Sabbath.

Greece, Part I

At long last, I have made it to Greece, but not without one more slap in the face from Iberia airlines. It turned out that the connecting flight they gave me did not leave until seven or eight hours after I sent out my Quick Update letter to all of you; the flight I thought I was supposed to be boarding then was going to Malaga, not Athens. Fun. . . not. Cool airport, but not the world's most comfortable place to hang out in for seven or eight hours. Such is life! It felt good to get on the plane at last, practicing my Spanish on two teachers on vacation from Barcelona. When I saw my name on the card the woman from our travel agency was holding, I almost cried that I'd finally, finally made it.

My room mate, Damali, helped me get oriented--thankfully, I had arrived just in time for our first tour, a day which incidentally (and thankfully) had no class. I am so glad I made it to this one; this tour made all the bother with Iberia along the way worth it. I could not believe my luck, to see the Acropolis my first day in Greece.

Along the way, our tour guide gave us notes about the local culture and history, which runs deep into the past. I never realized how much the Olympics helped Athens clean up as a city. We saw the original 1893 Olympic stadium, all made of marble. Another thing she pointed out that I found fascinating was how when they began to dig for the subway there in Athens, they found artifacts from many different periods, and the subway construction project soon became an archaeological one as well.

It's amusing to see the way the Greeks park; they park anywhere. They double-park, park on the sidewalks, anywhere. They do get parking tickets, and have stacks of them at home, but if they did not park this way, they never would park. I can see now why public transportation is so popular here.

The Acropolis, in Greek, basically means "the highest point in the city." The first thing we saw there was an ancient amphitheater, which is still used for concerts to this day. For those concerts, they have started to forbid women to wear high-heeled shoes because of the damage they do to the very, very old stone. The rest of the Acropolis was in the process of being refurbished, as many of the old stones being used to complete the various structures, but with new marble to keep it more structurally sound. The Parthenon is actually more impressive to see in person than in photographs; it really does earn its place as one of the architectural wonders of the world. Their use of perspective is incredible.

The part of the Acropolis that impressed me the most, however, was not the Parthenon, but a rock. What's so exciting about a rock? Well, this particular rock happened to be both particularly large and also, incidentally, the rock where Paul stood when he came to Athens and, after seeing all these temples to the various gods and found one to an unknown God and said, "Now what you worship as something unknown, I am going to proclaim to you." (Acts 17:23). It's one thing to read this story in the Bible; it is quite another to be there, to see the place myself and to look out on what Paul saw. It just makes it so. . . real.

Damali took me into downtown Glyfada (which is the town where we're staying), so I could exchange money and we could purchase lunch. I've always liked Greek food, and actually eating it here only makes me love it more. Sure, I'll probably be sick of gyros and dolma by the time we get out of here, but for now, the mere mention of either makes my mouth water. I spent the afternoon studying on our balcony, looking at the pure blue Aegean Sea. The only stretch of ocean I've seen this color was in Hawaii, and even that was not quite so blue.

This morning I had my first class; all things considered, it doesn't seem like it will be too nasty a course to keep up with, even though it's Biblical Greek. The translations are longer than anything I ever did in one sitting at PUC, and we go into more detail with things, but otherwise, Greek seems to be Greek, whoever teaches it on whatever level. Heh. Anyways, enough time to talk about class and everyday stuff later; for now, I'd just like to thank all of you for praying, as those prayers are probably what finally got me here. I hope each of you has a wonderful weekend, and I wish you well.

Greece, the Prologue

Why, you may ask, is this merely a prologue to Greece? Shouldn't I already be there, making this Part I?

Every now and then a real doozie of a travel story comes along. This is mine:

Saying good-bye to my mother in the airport in Oakland, I got through security without a single problem. The flight to Chicago went smoothly, we landed on time, and I marvelled at how well my first time flying alone was going.

I spoke too soon.

Just as I was starting to move towards the gate for boarding, an announcement came over the system. It said something to the effect of, "The flight to Dulles is being delayed due to weather in the midwest. We apologize for any inconvenience." The announcement went on to say that it wasn't just a slight delay, it was two and a half hours. Once I got to Dulles, this left me just an hour and fifteen minutes to make the connection.

My first stop was Iberia, to let them know I was coming. I got blank stares, but thought little of it--I had to recheck my baggage, and do it fast. Fortunately, Aunt Faith, a long-time family friend who lives in the area, surprised me there to greet me and help me get my bags and get to the ticket counter. I became incredibly grateful for this, and you'll see why.

We got to the Iberia counter 50 minutes before the flight, and there was still one agent there. However, he said stubbornly, "We're closed. The flight's closed. Southwest was late; it's their problem." It didn't matter if we addressed him in English or in Spanish, his native tongue--he set the closed sign on the counter, and left us there.

If it weren't for Faith, I probably would have given up right there. Fortunately, she was there and took me to the Southwest counter, where an incredibly kind Southwest baggage office supervisor, Wanda Cox, got on the phone and did everything in her power to get me out of there. The poor woman grew increasingly agitated as Iberia essentially gave her a brick wall.

She was determined, though, and emerged with a flight for this evening, giving me her cell number and saying with grim determination, "And if Iberia gives you any more trouble, call me." I was blown away by this beautiful display of good customer service, as opposed to Iberia. I found out later, as a bit of a slap in the face, that my flight had taken off six minutes early, as if out of spite.

Faith generously decided to take me in for the intervening time, and it was actually nice to have an excuse to catch up with her, Uncle Ken, and Katie. I had been very sad when they moved away from California some time ago, but once I saw the gorgeous forest they live in now, with a pond out back, I was glad the move had treated them so well. It was so green, greener than anything in California this time of year, and incredibly peaceful.

To go see Katie at her academy, Uncle Ken drove me through the beautiful Shenandoah Valley yesterday afternoon. I had read about it in books before, but books don't give a good impression of the particular way the clouds sweep over the open sky, the mountains gleam with a blue haze, or the land sweep out in incredible. . . green-ness. I know that's not a word, but it's the best one I can come up with to describe it. It was neat to catch up with Ken after all this time. Katie's academy was made up of lovely red-brick buildings with white columns, very lovely. Seeing her, talking with her again, was wonderful.

Today I write from Heritage Academy, where Faith is working. Wandering around a school this size has been very cool and enlightening in its own way. One side of this building could probably fit two or three PHAAs in it, and all the hallways are lined with gleaming red lockers. I have been listening to Spanish teachers putting together a curriculum, which has also been good for getting back some of the Spanish I've lost over the year, unfortunately.

Hopefully, the next time I write to you, I will actually be in Greece. Please pray that Iberia does not shaft me again, and I actually make it there. Spending this time in Virginia has been really nice and quite relaxing, but I do wish to get to Greece at some point. Sooner rather than later, as I have already missed a day of class, and will miss another before I get there, if I get there. This I accept as a part of life's adventure, and will just take it as it comes. No use stressing out about what I can't control, and stress is counterproductive, anyway. To that end, I wish all of you a wonderful, stress-less summer, and hope to write to you again soon. . . from Greece.

Honors Field Trip

Well, one year here at PUC come and gone--it's been a wild ride, that's for sure. It has been a year of many journeys, of many adventures, but not ones that have made it into this blog, unfortunately, as they were spiritual journeys rather than geographic ones.

Several weeks ago, however, I did have the pleasure of taking a jaunt into San Francisco for an Honors Field Trip. After a morning of recording voice replacement tracks for an episode of PUC-Ite's (which you really all should watch; there's four new episodes posted since I last posted here), we departed at last for San Francisco.

My heart rejoiced to see the city come into view as we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge into what is known by some as the Paris of the Pacific. After getting lost, we had a most excellent lunch at the Pagan Restaurant during which Drs. Sheldon and Fulton finally figured out who I am--they remember my father from when he attended PUC, it turns out.

Then, we went to the Palace of the Legion of Honor. After looking at the fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls (it is humbling to look upon something that old), we were free to wander the museum. Oh! The wonders I saw. Rodin sculpture with such emotive content, gracefully blown glass, baroque furniture and paneling, works of famous Impressionists like Monet and Seurat. I was entranced to look upon all these great paintings, sculptures, and artifacts.

It was hard to tear me away from the museum, but our next stop, the synagogue, was just as fascinating to me. Their music was gorgeous, and though most of it was in Hebrew, it spoke to me in a way that the music at PUC can't--and there was a woman leading the music with the sort of voice that makes you feel as though nothing will harm you, as though everything will be all right. The care with which they lit the candles for Shabbat, the love they expressed for the Torah was. . . touching.

After dinner at Fresh Choice, we came back to PUC for a classically dead Dead Week. Tomorrow I get to go home and start preparing for my adventures in Greece, which will be much better-documented than my time here at PUC has. I would like to thank each one of you who has prayed for me over the year, for it has been of immeasurable value for a variety of reasons. As I leave, may God be with you when I cannot. Hope to see as many of you as possible before leaving, but if that's not possible, just know that I care about you and wish you the best.

Midterm Week

It has been a thoroughly crazy week, dead smack in the middle of midterm season. . . and not over yet; I only allow myself the time to make this post because it gives me something fairly useful to do in the brief amount of time before I rush to the next place I need to be.

The first three photos are from my visit to Elmshaven, the last home of Ellen White, last Sunday for Adventist Heritage. Fascinating tour that will make it hard to keep the report down to three pages. I was most amused to find that one of the women on the tour had met me at the Sacramento Slavic church a few months earlier. Small world.

Most of the beautiful spring blossoms have started to fade, but not those in the church courtyard quite yet--unfortunately, I think the only time I really got to stop and admire them this week was when I took that photo. I've been rushing to get my application for my year abroad in Spain ready, which has kept me on the move. Had to come up with a passport photo, and needless to say, I do like this one way better than the one in my actual passport. Grr. . .